


Le Démon de la Montagne

by Tiberias



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Light Angst, M/M, Stag Hannibal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-20
Updated: 2016-07-20
Packaged: 2018-07-25 16:34:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7539931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tiberias/pseuds/Tiberias
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Will wants to die, so he goes to hunt for the legendary god of the dead.</p><p>I'm in love with @camilleflyingrotten's Hanni-stag idea and drawings, so I thought to gift her with this little story, just to say thank you for giving us this amazing love-story!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Le Démon de la Montagne

**Author's Note:**

> English is not my mother language, and story is not betaed.

There is a legend that has been passed down from father-to-son, a legend, a legend born long ago, passed from mouth to mouth, from faun to faun ... they whisper his name, le Démon de la Montagne, because they are afraid to speak it aloud, they are afraid that he, the Mountain Demon, will come down to spread death and pain.

Who goes up, up the cursed mountain, will not make return. Fauns always watched the dark mountain peaks as if they were monsters. The mountain peaks often disappeared into the clouds, and when they re-appeared, they seemed to touch the sky. It was impressive to behold. There was a perpetual mist around the mountain, and sometimes the winds carried screams.

Will grew up hearing these stories, all his friends were so afraid of the demon, above all, they feared him at dawn, because stories told of his particular preference of taking lives before the rise of the sun. But Will, Will to be honest wasn't afraid of him. In his young life he wasn't afraid of many things.

"Those who will wander up the mountain, they will surely die!" Thundered the herd leader, "stay away from it, and nothing will ever happen to you!"

Will unlike everyone else had always looked with curiosity toward the mountain, with its perennially snow-capped peaks, huge green Spruce-fir forest, and the pungent, resinous and fresh scent that sometimes the winds carried down at valley. And in the summer, those immaculate peaks, those ever-green trees, seemed to promise a sweet and cool relief from the summer heat.

There was a river running fast down the mountainside, but the herd leader had always forbidden everyone to drink its water, "Listen to me! It's the water of the death, who drinks or bathe in it, will surely die!"

There was another small stream, but during the summer heat it barely had enough water to serve the entire valley, so many used to go to the lake, but its waters had a horrible taste, and often it made Will's stomach ache.

So he secretly used to go to drink and bathe in the mountain river, and oh the water was always so fresh, and full of fish, and colored pebbles, some seemed to be like small gold nuggets. After bathing, his skin was always very soft, and shining with lots of little gold specks. Will really believed that up there, lived a deity. 

His father, unlike the others, never wanted to talk about the demon, "William, promise me that for any reason, you will ever leave this valley to venture up the mountain, can you promise me this?"

But his father had died many years ago, he went out to hunt and never returned. He fell down a cliff, during a storm. After his death, Will became practically an outcast. Let's simply say that he and his father, had never been fully accepted by the rest of the herd. Will was not capable of many things, and his unstable and "weird" character and attitude, did not help either. Will was considered to be very handsome, the most handsome among all the fauns, but no one wanted to mate with him, with someone so unstable and strange like him, female fauns were too afraid to pass onto their pups his "sick" genes. 

The culmination was reached during the past autumn, when the herd leader forced him to leave the rest of the group, because he was sure that Will was bringing to them only bad luck. So the herd had left him behind ... to die or live, by nature's hand.

That year, the winter was proving to be particularly hard and long, and Will was now on the extremes of his forces. Food was scarce, and both the lake and the small stream were completely frozen. So one day, Will found himself making his way up, toward the mountain's peaks. If he was really going to die, he would not sit and wait to die of hunger and cold. 

"I want to see this demon," he said to himself, as he made his way through the snowstorm, "if I die, I want it to happen by his hands, because it will surely be a quick and painless death!"

The mountain was shrouded in mists and silence, and the Spruce-fir forest was sleeping under layers of white snow. It was so cold, so, so cold and Will only wanted to quickly find the demon, to quickly attract the beast out from his black hole, toward the small faun, and finally beg him to drag him straight into his kingdom of death.

"At least I will belong to someone, to a place ... forever," he told to himself, because the god of dead doesn't make any distinctions. To her we are all equals, and for once in his life, he will not be left behind, he will not feel any different from the others of his kind.

Three days passed, before Will could finally see him, the death, le Démon de la Montagne. Three days of hunger, starvation and cold, and wolves, plenty of wolves. Then, at the dawn of the fourth day, after a long night spent to hide away from bears, wolves and nightmares ... finally, oh finally the death made his appearance. 

He appeared in the likeness of a majestic mountain-stag, tall, much taller than Will, graced with a powerful, and muscular physique, a body sculpted and scarred by many battles. He had a set of long antlers, and grey ash-blond hair and fur.

Will was not sure how the demon intended to kill him, perhaps he would kill him instantly with his strong large hands, or maybe he would open an abyss under his feet and engulf him. Everyone liked to tell a different story, there were so many tales about this demon, that Will often was left wondering how on earth they knew those stories, because until now, no one returned from the mountain alive, to tell them what had really happened!

The mountain-stag remained silent, his red-brown eyes were bottomless and studying the young faun. His grey ash-blond fur was thick and seemed to be very warm and soft. On his head he wore a crown of pine needles and bright red berries.

To be honest, the mountain-stag seemed to be surprised in seeing him there. The ghost seemed to be Will, not him.

"My name is Will, and I came here because I want to die." He declared, eyes never leaving his bottomless ones. 

The stag's head tilted to one side as to study him, then, he sniffed the air before replying in a low, hoarse voice which sent shivers to Will, "I can't smell any diseases on you, and you're not hurt, so why do you want to die?"

"I have nothing left to live for, my herd left me behind, they said that I am not of any use to them," he said licking his lips, "I'm tired and lonely, I want to die of a quick and painless death."

The old stag slowly advanced toward him, but Will didn't move. He was ready to face his destiny, he was ready to follow the death wherever he wanted to go.

"My dear young faun, I'm sorry that you came all the way up here, I'm sorry that you've spent days hiding from wolves and bears ... but I will not kill you."

"B-but they ... they say-"

"Exactly my young faun, they say, but they don't know."

"Kill me! You must kill me!"

"I'm sorry."

"B-But who dares to come up here, makes no return!" Will insisted, feeling tears burn his eyes.

"This is true because impelled by curiosity or hunger, many ended up being eaten by wolves or bears, or they ate a kind of berry which is very beautiful and inviting, but sadly, also very poisonous ... it leave no escape."

"Why don't you warn them?"

"I'm not omnipresent!"

Will bit his lip.

"Go back home, tell to your herd leader that you have defeated me, so you will be welcomed back with glory."

"I have nothing left down there, nothing that is worth for me to go back." He spat, feeling tears stream down his flushed cheeks.

"Oh Will..."

"H-How do you know my name?"

"I am the god of the dead, I know everything."

Will smiled, "then Demon, show me these poisonous berries."

"They're there behind that clump of trees."

"Do you want to watch me eat them?"

"Do you want me to watch you die?"

"I would like it, to just not feel lonely, for once."

The mountain-stag smiled bitterly.

Will walked toward the bush.

The Demon was silent, standing behind him, intent to observe him.

"Before I go, tell me your name, so I'll know it and I'll call you."

"Hannibal."

Will cried a little bit, "will it hurt?"

"No."

"D-do not look at me ... I-I changed my mind, when I will be dead, you-"

"I will come back to claim you, Will," Hannibal said, then he slowly walked away, leaving him alone.

Will brought the berries to his lips, he looked over his shoulders, but he was alone, alone again.

 

\---

 

"Hannibal."

"Hannibal!"

The mountain-stag stood up and looked at him.

"You lied to me!"

"I know."

Will sighed, watching Hannibal fishing some salmons. 

"Why?!"

Hannibal was silent for a long moment, then he came out from the icy waters, and Will thought that maybe he was really a kind of demi-god to withstand all that cold without die of hypothermia.

Will followed him for a few minutes in silence, until they reached a cave. It was big, warm and cozy. A big bed made of straw and dead leaves was placed in a corner.

"Why Hannibal?"

"As I already told you, I'm not the god of the dead!"

"Yes, but you told me that they died because of those berries!" He barked.

But Hannibal seemed unperturbed, as he sat down to clean the fish. Then, he offered it to Will.

Will took it without a word, he spent days with nothing to eat, apart from the berries.

"Will, eat slowly or you will feel sick."

"Unbelievable, the god of the dead who gives me healthy tips!" Will smiled mocking him.

"Many years ago," Hannibal began to tell, "yes, many years ago, I was attacked by a pack of wolves, at that time I did not know very well this part of the mountain. I was seriously injured, and I thought I would die."

Will listened to him while licking his fingers, those salmons were delicious.

"I had resigned myself to die, but your father found me. At that time he knew the rumors about me and my species, we were labelled as aggressive and murderous creatures, but he was not afraid. He spent weeks taking care of me, until he managed to put me back on my feet. I remember you, Will, you had just two years and your mother had died the year before. Your father was a quiet and caring man."

Will nodded, "I miss him profoundly."

"Out of gratitude, I asked your father how I could repay him, and he made me promise that I, or others of my kind, would never-ever take your soul. Of course, I swore on my life, and left the very next day."

Will smiled, shaking his head, "so these poisonous berries do not exist."

"I made you eat common blueberries, but they do exist, they are intertwined in my crown."

"Tomorrow morning I'll show you a secret passage that can take you quickly down to the valley."

"I don't want to go, now that I'm dead."

Hannibal watched him seriously.

"You cannot stay here."

"Demon, I willingly offer you my own soul."

"I'm not the god of the dead."

"Yes you are, because here, on these mountain peaks, many found their death, and this makes you the keeper of their souls!"

"But you're not dead, you are alive."

"No, I was dead, until now I was dead ... please don't send me back to die again of ... solitude."

"I promised to your father."

"Take me."

"Will..."

Will stretched out his hand toward the mighty mountain-stag, "Hannibal, please take me."

Hannibal looked at his hand and hesitated.

Will quickly removed the poisonous crown from the stag's head and put it on his own, "take me, Hannibal."

Hannibal grabbed his arm and dragged him toward the dark side of his cave.


End file.
